Nonrefillable bottle



A. E. READ NONREFILLA BLE BOTTLE April 13, 1937.

Filed Nov. 30, 1954 2 Sheeis-Sheet 1 1 INVENTOR. 4rff7ur A. Peaa ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNiT ED STATES PATENT OFFIQE 2,076,668 NONREFILLABLE BOTTLE Arthur E. Read, Bronx, N. Y.

Application November 30, 1934, Serial No. 755,319

14 Claims.

This invention relates to nonrefillable bottles and more particularly to the top portion or neck part thereof by means of which liquid may be readily'poured out of the bottle in order to permit of the discharge of its contents whereas refilling of the bottle after the same is empty is rendered impossible. 1

So-called nonrefillable bottles have long been known and a great number of them have been 0 placed on the market, but as a matter of actual demonstration, relatively few are nonrefillable only in name and can be readily refilled through the employment of appropriate apparatus generally utilizing a partial vacuum.

The devices of the prior art have in the main consisted in floats or buoyant bodies of cork and the like and weights which were operated upon solely by gravity for the purpose of closing outlet orifices in the event that it was attempted to refill the bottles with which they were associated.

Other and more successful devices from the standpoint of actual safeguard, have consisted in the use of springs and other similar adjuncts, but such devices and particularly metallic parts are undesirable because of possible corrosion and failure to operate. The ultimate result is that, after exhaustive consideration of the prior art and prior practice, the past production of a truly nonrefillable bottle is not only questionable, but relatively remote.

It should be borne in mind in this connection that in order to be practical and meet the common need, a structure of the character described must be relatively cheap to manufacture. It

must embody relatively few parts and it must be sufficiently economical to make and attach to allow the same to be associated with a bottle without materially adding to the cost of the ultimate product. This question of cost has apparently constituted an insurmountable barrier against the production of nonrefillable bottles on a commercial scale, so that of all the bottles heretofore known and of which I am aware, there is but one which has apparently proven com- 5 mercially nonrefillable and that Is one which embodies a metal spring.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a bottle which will be absolutely nonrefillable, one

which can be manufactured and incorporated in bottle construction at a price which is in nowise prohibitive, one which will embody a minimum number of working parts, one which will be devoid of metallic parts to come in contact with -5 the contents of the bottle; one which will pour easily and with suflicient rapidity to meet dispensing requirements; and one which, if an attempt is made to refill the same through the use of a vacuum, will cause the parts to be locked in such manner that it can not be refilled, but will trap any liquid which may remain in the bottle in such an effectual manner that it will be necessary to break the bottle to remove the remaining contents.

The present invention is characterized by a principle peculiarly novel to this art in that it utilizes certain physical phenomena incident to presence of liquid under a hydrostatic head and which hydrostatic head, in accordance with the method forming part of this invention, serves to act upon a nonbuoyant sealing element to cause the same to be shifted toward and away from an appropriate seat in a manner to permit dispensing of the liquid when desired, but to positively preclude refilling of the bottle either under conditions of pressure or partial vacuum.

The principle to which I have referred is utilized by the present invention to act upon a nonbuoyant body confined within a walled guide which may be graphically referred to as a guide tube or cage which serves as a guide for said body and is shaped to conform substantially with the cross sectional shape of the body, the body and its guide tube being so proportioned as to provide clearance between them to permit of the movement of said body. Said clearance is, however, relatively slight, so as not to permit of appreciable by-passing of the, liquid about the body. As a result, the application of pressure, hydrostatic or otherwise, against the body in a direction longitudinally of the guide tube will be directed against one side of the body and since it cannot pass the body will act thereon to shift the body axially of the tube into and out of cooperative relation with the seat associated therewith. In conjunction with the body and its guide tube, there is utilized what may be termed a diverting element or flow controlling element, operating as a check valve, and preferably buoyant and the function of which is to so control the flow of liquid or gaseous pressure as to direct it against the non-buoyant body when an attempt is made to refill the bottle, to the end that the non-buoyant body may be thus acted upon by pressure, hydrostatic or otherwise, to firmly engage with its seat and thus preclude entry of liquid into the bottle.

Basing the invention on these novel principles, the structure is as hereinafter more fully described in detail to function in a manner specified in order to permit a ready flow of liquid from the a bottle equipped with the device of the present invention.

Figure 6 shows illustrative parts of the present invention illustrated in Figure 5 dismantled...

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5, but illustrates the position of the parts for dispensing liquid from the bottle. 1

Figure 8 shows the manner in which the pro-' duction of a partial vacuum within the bottle incident to'an attempt to refill the same will cause the bottle to become substantially permanent} sealed.

Figures 9-12 are more or less diagrammatic sections showing different operations which take. place in the device when an attempt is made'to 3 refill the same. j

Figure 13 shows a central section modified form of construction. I

In Figures 1-'-4, I have illustratedthe method of w this invention in a diagrammatic manner. I have; therein shown the way in which the nonbuoyant sealing member functions under the application of pressure to'move toward and, away from a valve seat. By reference to these figures,

of a slightly I indicates a non-buoyant body shown for thepurpose of present illustration as spherical. This bodyis. positioned within a cylindrical walledpassage '2 provided adjacent one end with a valve seatii and. having a suitable stop or abutmentl at its other end. Both the body I and the passage 2 2 are of the same cross section, for example, circular, and are'of substantially the same diameter although the body I is slightly smaller in order to give. appropriate clearance. 'l 'his clearance, however, should not be great, but there should 5. be on the contrary arelatively close fit so that liquid flowing through the passage andengaging the sphere I will not freely flow about the same, but rather will be substantially precluded from flow through the passage by said sphere. Slight leakage, however, between the sphere and the wall of the passage is not serious, but the fit should be sufiiciently close, so that therecan be no real flow between these parts through the clearance. space.

' The sphere I should be of greater speciflcgravity than the liquid withwhich it is used, so as to r be non-buoyant as stated. It is preferably'of glass, porcelain, bakelite, or any other suitable material which is hard and unyielding; so as to 5 preserve its shape indefinitely, and this material should be such that it is not acted upon by the liquid associated therewith in a way to change. its size or in a manner to color or flavor the liquid. j Around at leastaportion of the length of the passage 2 beyond valve seat 3 aby-pass 5, theoutlet end of which isprovided with an appro-' priate check valve 6 which maypartake of a wide variety of forms, an example of which will be hereinafter more fully explained with reference to the structure. Irrespective of its structure,

the check valve should be such as permit the passage of liquid through the by-pass 5 and in the direction of the check valve, but to seal said passage against retrograde flow of the liquid.

Now, with reference to Figure 1, it will be noted that when this arrangement of primary elements is positioned horizontally, as shown, the column of liquid 1 under an appropriate hydrostatic head and directed into the passage 2 from the valve seat end 3 thereof. will act upon the non-buoyant element I with suificient force to impel said element away from the seat 3 and in the direction of the stop 4, as shown in Figure 1, to thereby uncover the by-pass 5, so that after the liquid has forced the body I beyond the by-pass and against the stop 4,, the liquid pressure will hold the body I in this position, whilea portion of the liquid will be diverted through .the by-pass 5, unseat the check valve 6 and may be discharged therethrough. There maybe aslight amount of leakage of the liquid through; the clearance space aroundhe body I, but this is inconsequential and unimportant. An important feature is that liquid will be discharged through the checkrvalvve 6.

A further important factor ofqthisinvention is that the bodyI while non-bu yant in character should be such that hydrostatic'gpreseure of the' liquid column 1 will shift' the sphere I as stated when applied thereto asshown in Figure 1.,

In view or: what has been-said, it will be noted that if the column of liquid 1, instead of being directed into the valve seat end of the passage his directed into the passage from the opposite end thereof, so as to pass the stop 4 and flow into the passage, a directly contrary result will occur. That is to say, thecheckvalve Swill be seated and the pressure of the liquid column will be directed against the sphere I to move it to the left in-Fig-j ure land into engagement withthe-s'eat 3; As, a

result, the flow of liquid through the passage 2 .in

such counter direction-will be absolutely precluded by a forceful seating of 'thesphere Ion the valve seat 3. Thus the part I is shifted by'hyd'rostatic pressure in either directiondepen'ding'upon the direction of directed flow of the liquid column 1 due primarily to the relatively slight clearance and the ability of the hydrostatic pressure to move the sphere longitudinally of the passage as stated. It may be also noted .inthis regardthat' pneumatic pressure will act-upon the sphere l in thesameway.

I have hereinbefore referred to the operation of the parts when occupyingia. horizontal: post-1 tion.. In Figure 2, I have shown said parts in la' vertical position. In this figure, the parts are shown invertedwith the: valve seat at the top and here the liquid column 1 will be assisted by gravity in impelling the sphere away from its seat and against the stop I; the: liquid thereupon being dispensed through. the'by-pass land through the check valve 0; In Figure 3, the-parts CJI are shown in vertical upright position with the valve-seat 3 at the bottom. Herefthecolu'mnof liquid Twill be by gravity in forcing the sphere I into engagement with the valve preclude flow of liquid through the passage; In Figure 4, the same general inverted arrangement isjshown as in Figure 2 with: the valve seat;

3 at the top. The liquidcolumn Tmoving, up-

wardly will lift the sphere I- and cause it to 611 gage with the seat 3, thus sealing the and overcoming'theforce of g'ravityinits opera tijon. v It will thus be seenthat the operations of the sphere I are not dependent upon gravity nor preclude leakage in this joint.

buoyancy, but rather upon differential pressures, the sphere being moved in the direction away from the greater pressure.

The foregoing method steps are carried out in the apparatus of this invention in a manner next to be described. In Figures 5-12 of the drawings, 8 designates the neck of a container shown as a bottle. This bottle may be of any capacity and of any desired shape and the apparatus forming part of this invention may be incorporated either in whole or in part directly in the neck of the bottle or in a separate assembly adapted to be permanently attached to the bottle neck. I have chosen the latter construction in the interest of economy in manufacturing and packaging liquids. To this end,'I employ a housing 9 adapted to be permanently secured to the bottle neck 8 after the bottle has been filled, by spinning a ring If! in place to form a union between the parts.

In assembling these parts, I preferably insert between the housing 9 and the neck 8 an apertured disk 3 so proportioned as to extend between the housing and the neck to form a gasket to The center of the gasket is cut away as shown at H to form an outlet for liquid and a sphere l is adapted to cooperate with this gasket, the latter serving as a valve seat for the sphere l which thus constitutes a sealing member. I find this structure highly practical particularly when the part 3 is formed of yieldable material such as rubber or cork as it thus performs the function of a combined gasket and valve seat and provides for a very efiicient seal against the flow of liquid into the bottle. However, I do not limit the invention to the incorporation of this element as the sealing element i may, if desired, seat directly in the mouth of the bottle or upon a separate seat member either of yielding or non-yielding material mounted at the neck of the bottle. The advantage of the yielding seat, however, is that little care need be exercised in making the bottle and the bottle necks may vary within considerable limits in size and shape without interfering with the operations of the device.

The sealing element is confined within a passage 2 formed within a guide l2. This guide may diifer within wide limits from a structural standpoint, but it should in any event provide the walled passage 2 extending longitudinally of the device and should be provided further with a by-pass 5 leading from the vicinity of and beyond the valve seat to a point beyond the outermost travel of the sphere l and there provided with a check valve 6. For economy in manufacture and convenience in assembly, this guide member 12 is shown in the form of a cage comprising concentric cylindrical walls l3 and I4 and shown in detail in Figure 6, these walls being spaced apart by ribs l5 to maintain them rigidly in position. The outer diameter of the wall 13 is of a size to closely fit within the interior bore of the housing 9 and to seat at its lower edge upon the gasket 3. The space between the inner and outer walls constitutes the by-pass 5 which is thus made of very considerable cross sectional area in order to permit of rapid discharge of liquid therethrough. Stop 4 is preferably made in the form of an abutment cast integral with the housing 9 and has formed therewith a baflle l6 underlying the discharge outlet [1 of the housing so that the interior structure may not be tampered with by the introduction of wires or other devices.

The baille l6 and stop 4 are properly spaced from and mounted on the housing by integral ribs l8 as shown. The check valve 6 is shownin the construction of Figures 5-12 in the form of an annulus of buoyant material, such as a fiat cork ring, the same being confined within the housing above the cage 12. The cork ring is of preferably slightly less outer diameter than the interior diameter of the housing and is guided for axial movement by ribs l9 which serve to reduce friction between the ring and the housing.

It may here be noted that the use of a sphere l as a unit member is also intended to reduce friction incident to the movement of the, sealing member in the passage 2 and that if desired the sealing member may be of other shapes appropriate to function as a valve sealing member when cooperating with an appropriate seat. In any event, it should embody appropriate mass and be of non-buoyant material as described in connection with the sphere shown.

The parts are manufactured as illustrated in Figure 6 and are assembled as shown in Figure 5. In practice, the container is filled with liquid prior to the assembly of the non-refillable device thereon, but such assembly may be carried out with neatness and dispatch as it embodies only tw moving parts. 1

After the bottle has been filled and the housing and its adjuncts are secured in place thereon, the liquid is packaged and ready for the market. If desired, however, and by preference, a screw cap or other appropriate closure is as: sociated with threads 23 formed on the exterior of the housing, so as to keep out dirt and preclude spilling of the contents if the bottle is tilted. When it is desired to dispense liquid from the bottle, the closure associated with the threads 20 is removed and the bottle tilted as shown in Figure '7. This tilting will cause the hydrostatic head of the liquid contained in the bottle to be directed against the sealing element l with the result that the hydrostatic head will cause the element l to move away from the seat 3 and into engagement with the stop 4. Gravity will of course assist in this movement of the sealing element, but it is not essential as the hydrostatic pressure will be more than sufficient to produce this result. As the element I leaves its seat, it uncovers the by-pass 5, so that a portion of the liquid is diverted and flows through the by-pass. The pressure of such liquid forces the check valve 6 from its seat and against shoulders 21 formed on the ribs 18, so thatthe contents of the bottle may be discharged through the by-pass and through the central opening in the ring 6, theme between the ribs i8 and through the outlet H of the housing. The path of the liquid is shown in Figure 7 by the full line arrows. Simultaneously air may enter into the bottle as indicated by the dotted line arrows, so as to displace the liquid poured from the bottle.

Practice has demonstrated that the bottle will pour quickly and without that slow dribbling efiect which has long constituted a disadvantage in non-refillable bottles as heretofore constructed. With the present invention air freely enters the bottle in the manner shown allowing the liquid to readily flow therefrom.

When a sufiicient quantity of the contents has been dispensed as stated, the bottle is returned to upright position and immediately the sealing element I will fall by gravity to its seat and the ring 2i will similarly descend to its seat.

The operations described may be repeated until ithe-bottle is empty and thereafter the bottle should be destroyedin accordance with the practice dictated by the'use of non-refillable bottles. 1 However, should anattempt be made :to refill dicated by the reference character 22.

in the vessel and'withinlthe bottle. This having been accomplished, the mechanism for :producing the partial vacuum is disconnected and liquid is permitted'to flow into the :vessel. Figure 9 shows the liquid lever rising, said liquid .beingin- The liquid will rise inthe vessel untilit passes into the housing '9 and contacts with the ring 6; Being buoyant, this ring willthereafter rise with the liquid untilit seatsatfthe outlet of the by-pass'5,

as'shown in'Fi'gure l0 andeven though itdid not respond to buoyancy instantly, thelfiowof liquid into the vessel .is sufliciently rapid, so that the fiow of liquid into the housing .9 acts as a hydraulic piston. This is augmented by the fact that the cross sectional areaof the :housing and neck of the bottle is materially less than the internal cross sectional area of the body of the bottle and consequently as the liquid rises to and starts to enter the housing itdoes :so-with a rush. Consequently, thecheck valve '6 will be driven to its seat undercons'iderable'force :and with great rapidity. Thisoperation is further due to the fact thatthe liquid in vpassingabout the balile I6 is directed against the under face of the ring .6 and must change direction in. order .to flow into the passage 2. During this change of direction considerable amount of force of thciiquid will be 7 directed against the under face of the ringfor the'purpose of shifting the same into :seated position as shown in Figure 10. The seating of this ring constitutes a. seating of a check valve thus precluding flow of liquid through the by-pass .5, and there results adifferential pressure onopposite sides of the-sphere I. In :other words, there is a-partialvacuum in: the bottleand ahydrostatic headagainst the oppositeside ofthesphere. As a result,-the sphere rises under the hydrostatic head-asshcwn in Figural 1, andv engages with its seat 3 as therein illustrated.

If liquid continues to flow into thefiliing vessel, the'hydrostatic head will increase .orif the vessel is vented, the air pressure therein will become atmospheric thereby producinga very marked pressurediirerential between'the interior of thebottle and the exterior thereofwithLtheJresult that in the specific structure "described with a yielding valve seat 3, the-sphere twill be forced with great 'pressureagainstits valve seat causing the same to be deformed, as shown in Figure 12. If the bottle is now removed from. the vessel, it awillbe found that the engagement oftherelem'ent twith the seat3 has become so tight as to seal-ya partial vacuumwithin thebottleand make this seal practicallypermanent, at least for very prolonged .periods. In otherwords, ifaanaattempt is made to refill the bottle of this invention in then-manner described, itwill result in producing; a. substantially; permanent seal to the bottle whichrcan only be destroyed by ahreaking 10f sthebottle .01 removing the ring t0 which, f 0r practical pure poses, is equivalent to destroying the battle. 2

' -'I have described refilling of the bottle in ;in-

verted position Substantially the same opere= tions will result an attempt is made to the bottle in a horizontal positidnjor'themethod of :the invention as .describedin connection. with Figure -1 will be carried out and t he Sphere 4| 7 will be seated. It ispossible, howevenwthat if -the, bottle is positioned horizontally while attemptis made to refill the-same, that the checkvalve not operate immediately by gravity, but. itw1ll be shifted .by :the flow of liquid :thereagainst :as

stated and the sphere-will be forced immediately 3:

to its seat. V l I .If an attempt ismadeto fill the bottle in veritical position, the sphere :will drop to'aitsseatroI gravity and it will be impossible to introduce 7 liquid into the bottle. l i,-

"I have referred ,to the use of afilsk ;6 .of ,:b.uoyant material as acheck valveand I sprefer'thts' .construction in the interest of economy as this ring may be made ofcork- Itis possible, :how-

ever, to employ a, non-buoyant ring Ior :this

purpose or :any other suitable ,form of ;oheck valve,;spring operated or otherwise, without departing from this invention, If a non-buoyant ring is employed, itshould,'however, be of relatively light material so :as to ract immediately when a column of liquid engages it;and :to :be

forced thereby to the seat. ;It WillQfCOll-l'SGibC understood inzthis connection'thatit-is notessen- .tial that this ring remain seated for any iappreciable length of time, as: they sphere :1, when onceengagedwithits seat 3, .will remainseated by the vacuum in thebottleand .eventhough -the check .valve opens the "liquid cannot pass its seal.

:In Figure 13, "Ihave shown a rslightly modified form of construction. This structure einbodies all; ofthe elements 'hereinbefore, described incorn junction with the previous figures, 'but inv acldie tion thereto '1 position a non-buoyant ring 123' above the buoyant ring ,6. These .two vrings made separate and unattached to one another and the purposeof;thisznonebuqyanl ;ring 23..is to overcome thebuoyancypf: thering' 6 zwhen the bottle in uprightposition. The structirrespre otherwise thesame.

- In the-mode of operation ofthisgnvention the.

structure may vbe grzmhicaily referred to as having theanalogy ofya piston and cylinder. l br example, the cylindrical wailedgpassagefl imfliytbe said to correspond ,toa cyl nde i wh the vsealingelement I functions after the'mannerp! a piston :with a .sufiiciently close fit to preclude serious, leakage, the piston-.servingalso;as;a; sealing member of avalve, so that whensmovedsin one direction, it engages :with the valve seat, while when moved ;in the other directio i engages with the stop 1:4. ,This..-stop- 4;.may .b made separate from the cylinder as shown,-. or

theouterend ofthecylinder may be constricted or otherwise-formed to serve ;as a stop or lugs may be formed therein-for thjs purposg by-pass 45 in itsanalogy serves to-by pass the 7 whole or ;.a-; portion of the length; of=,the cylinder, but in any event, it by-passes the valvesealing member I .when thelatter -is.free; from its seaty The piston while mechanical; in v a true S8I1S8*;1 S 1 p at d pri a ly bye iquid.. 9 umn- 11 othe words, i ishy raul l y a t ated yth mas q d y th hydrost tic pressure ithereof except at. such. times when: the.:,-bottle is set". up

right in normal positionwhen ltwill gravitate to its lowermost position engaging with the seat to form the seal.

It will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description that the device of this invention operates very largely, if not almost entirely, by the application of difierential pressures in contradistinction to mere buoyancy or gravity which has so commonly dominated prior practice. Furthermore, it'is of importance to remember that the sealing element I is operated primarily by such differential pressures which are made applicable to the element by enclosing the same Within a passage exteriorly of the valve seat and adapted to direct a liquid column against the element to effect movement of the latter. The operation of the parts may therefore be said to be positive and reliable. The arrangement is moreover such that it will not readily get out of order, but will function under all conditions to permit discharge of the contents of the bottle but preclude refilling thereof.

The method of this invention may be accomplished through the employment of apparatus other than that specifically described and the apparatus may of course be modified through the substitution of equivalents without departing from this invention, the scope of which is to be understood as commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an assembly of the character described, a housing provided therein with a valve seat, a sealing member in the housing, a guide embracing the sealing member and forming therein a walled passage of a cross section corresponding to that of the sealing member with sufficient clearance between the sealing member and the wall of the passage to permit of movement of the sealing member longitudinally of said passage but to preclude unrestricted flow of liquid through the clearance space thus provided, a

duct arranged to by-pass the sealing member when said sealing member is free from the valve seat, and a check valve cooperating with the outer terminus of said duct, and independent of said valve seat.

2. In an assembly of the character described, a housing provided therein with a valve seat, a sealing member in the housing, a guide embracing the sealing member and forming therein a walled passage of a cross section corresponding to that of the sealing member with sufiicient clearance between the sealing member and the wall of the passage to permit of movement of the sealing member longitudinally of said passage but to preclude unrestricted flow of liquid through the clearance space thus provided, a duct arranged to by-pass the sealing member when said sealing member is free from the valve seat, and a check valve cooperating with the outer terminus of said duct, and independent of said valve seat, said sealing member being non-buoy ant.

3. In an assembly of the character described, a housing provided therein with a valve seat, a sealing member in the housing, a guide embracing the sealing member and forming therein a walled passage of a cross section corresponding to that of the sealing member with sufficient clearance between the sealing member and the Wall of the passage to permit of movement of the sealing member longitudinally of said passage but to preclude unrestricted flow of liquid through the clearance space thus provided, a duct arranged to by-pass the sealing member when said sealing member is free from the valve seat, and a check valve cooperating with the outer terminus of said duct, and independent of said valve seat, said sealing member being non-buoyant and the check valve being buoyant.

4. In an assembly of the character described, a housing having a liquid outlet at one end and a valve seat within its other end, an elongated cylindrical walled passage positioned between the valve seat and the outlet of the housing, a circular sealing element within the passage and having sufficient clearance with respect to thewall of the passage to permit of movement of the sealing element axially of the passage in a direction toward and away from the valve seat, means for limiting the movement of the sealing member in a direction away from the valve seat, a by-pass around the sealing member when the latter is free from the seat, and a check valve cooperating with said by-pass and independent of said valve seat and arranged to permit liquid to flow in the direction of the outlet of the housing, but to preclude retrograde flow of such liquid.

5. In an assembly of the character described, a housing having a liquid outlet at one end and a valve seat within its other end, an elongated cylindrical walled passage positioned between the valve seat and the outlet of the housing, a circular sealing element within the-passage and;hav-: ing sufficient clearance with respect to the wall of the passage to permit of movement of the sealing element axially of the passage in a direction toward andaway from the valve seat, means for limiting the movement of the sealing member in a direction away from the valve seat, a by-pass around the sealing member when the latter is free from the seat, and a check valve for said duct,

at both ends, a piston in said cylinder, a valve seat at one end of the cylinder against which the piston is adapted to seat and form a sealwhen moved in one direction, a stop at the other end of the cylinder'to limit the movement of the piston away from the seat, a by-pass exteriorly of the valve seat and around said cylinder to permit liquid to fiow therethrough in a direction away from the seat when the piston is removed from the seat, and a check valve associated with said by-pass and located to preclude the application of external hydrostatic pressure through the bypass to the interior end of the piston when said check valve is closed. 7

'7. In an assembly of the character described, a housing provided at one end with a liquid outlet and at the opposite end with a valve seat, a cylinder within the housing intermediate said seat and outlet, a piston in said cylinder constituted to form a sealing element when in engagement with the valve seat, a by-pass exteriorly of the valve seat and around the piston when the piston is free from engagement with the valve seat to permit liquid to flow through the by-pass in a direction away from the seat, and a check valve for said by-p-ass and located to preclude l .4 and independent of said valve seat, and arranged 0 the application of external hydrostatic pressure 7 through the by-pass to the interior and of the piston when said check valve isclosed.

'8. In an assembly of the character described, a

housing provided at one end with an outlet and having at its other end a yieldable aperturedseat, a cylinder positioned within the housing: between said seat and outlet, a piston operable in said i cylinder and adapted ior engagement with the '0 aperturedseat to forma seal therewith, a" walled duct by-passing thepiston exteriorly of said seat when the piston is free from saidseat topermit liquid to flow through said by-pass duct in a direction-away from the seat, and means cooperatingwiththe by-p'assto preclude the application housing provided at one end with an outlet: and

at its opposite end with a seat, a cylinder within 7 the housing between, said outlet and seat, a piston. operable in said cylinder and adapted for engagement with the seat-to form aseal therewith, said piston being non-buoyant, awalled bypassduct by-passing the piston when 'the latter is free from engagement with the seat, and a buoyant check valve adapted to cooperate with the outlet end of the by-pass duct remote from said seat to seal said duct against flow of liquid in a. retrograde direction through the duct.

10. In an assembly of the characterdescribed, a housing provided at one end with an outlet and a at its opposite end with a seat, a cylinder within the housing between said outlet and seat, a piston operable in saidcylinder and adapted for engagement with the seat to form a seal. therewith, said piston being non-buoyant, a walled by-pass duct by-passing the piston when the latter is free from engagement with'theseat, a buoyant checkvalve adapted to cooperate with the outlet endloi. the

bye-pass duct remote from said seat to seal said duct against fiow'o-f liquid in a retrograde direc tion through the duct, and guide ribsformed on the interior of the housing to guide" the movement of the buoyant check valve with a minimum of friction. r G

7 11. A non-refillable bottle provided with a walled outlet chamber having a valve seat at its therewith, but being movable by hydrostatic pressure of liquid contained in the bottle when the bottle is inverted to shift the piston from engageiment with the seat, a Walled duct leading from a point beyond the seat to a point beyond the outermost travelof'the piston and through which liq uid is adapted to flow from the bottle when the bottle is inverted and the piston retracted'from the seat, and a check valve cooperating with said by-pass to the interior end of the piston when said check valve is closed. 7

by-pass duct and located to preclude the applica-' tion of external hydrostatic pressure through the 12. A non-refillable bottle provided with: a walled outlet chamber having a valve seat'atits base, a cylinder within said walled outletchamher, a spherical piston operable within the cylin der and adaptedupon movement-in one direction to engage with the seat to form a seal therewith, said spherical piston havingjsubstantially the same diameter as-the cylinder to bemovedaxially V a of the cylinder by the'hydrostatic pressure iota column of liquid acting against one side oi: the

piston to force the piston from its seat-and: against the opposite side of the piston to: force it to itsseat, a walled duct'by-passing the piston beyond the valve. seat when the piston is free from its-1 seat, said walled duct havinga check valve located to preclude the application of external" hydro-= static premurethrough theby-pass to the interior a 7 av container having an outlet mouth, a housing alined with said outlet mouth a combinedgasket and seat member having an aperture therein and interposed between the outlet mouth and to form a, tight'joint therebetween andto simultaneously function as a valve seat, a non-buoyant sphere adapted to gravitate into engagement with the aperture and form a. seal therewith when the container is in upright position, a guide cage coaxial with the sphere and partially embracing-the same at all times to guide the sphere for substantially rectilinear movement in 'a direction toward and away from the seat, means for limiting'the movement of the sphere in a direction away from the seat, a walled duct by-passing the sphere when the sphere is free from its seat and through which 7 cage being so formed that the sphere, when in engagement with the limiting means will substantially preclude the flow of liquid from the container except through the by-pass'duct. 14. In an assembly of the character described, a containerhaving an outlet passage provided with a valve seat and beyond which valve seat said,

outlet passage is divided into two distinct 'pas- V sages, one of which constitutes a guide passage for a valve and the other of which constitutes a by-pass of the valve, a non-buoyant valve in said valve passage and movable from engagement with the seat into a position removed from the seat to permit the liquid to be dischargedfrom the container through the by-pass','said valve guide passage being shaped to form 'with the valve", when the latter is removed from its seat, a barrier to theflow of liquid through said passage around the valve, whereby discharge of the liquid in appreciable quantities can be accomplished only through the by-pass, there being a check valve associated with the by-pass and located to preclude the application of external hydrostatic pres-1 sure through the by-pa ss to the interior sid'e of the non-buoyant valve when said check valve is' closed. r V

r AR'I'HUR a. mean; 

